All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

A miraculous tribute to the power of image-making.

Opening Statement

With Everlasting Moments, director Jan Troell (The Emigrants)
has made one of the most personal films of his career, one based on a true story
taken from his extended family's history. The film is visually well-crafted, and
the story it tells is intriguing. Unfortunately, Troell hasn't really found a
coherent narrative, resulting in a meandering storyline that doesn't do justice
to the story it wants to tell.

Facts of the Case

In the early 1900s in Sweden, Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen) is a married
mother of four whose husband, Sigfrid (Mikael Persbrandt) is a drunken, loutish
laborer who neither respects nor understands her. One day, she rediscovers a
camera, a rare new piece of technology that she had won in a lottery, and finds
it increasingly fascinating. As she learns how to take pictures and develop them
with the help of sensitive photographer Mr. Pedersen (Jesper Christensen, Quantum of Solace), she discovers
that she has a gift for imagery and uncovering beauty in everyday places and
people. Her growing love for self-expression gradually drives a wedge between
her and her husband and she becomes increasingly forced to decide just how much
her blossoming talent means to her.

The Evidence

The story that's at the heart of Everlasting Moments—about a
woman's gradual self-discovery through artistic expression—is an important
and intriguing one. As long as the film focuses on it, it's never less than
compelling. The problem is that it only does so intermittently and consequently
undermines much of its power. It's Maria's story that we are most interested in,
but the film takes some unnecessary tangents that only distract from it.

In the beginning, the film does do a good job of explaining the characters.
We meet Maria and hear her story through her daughter Maja (Callin
Öhrvall), who describes Maria's difficult life as a working-class woman
expected to stand by her family at all times. We see the sacrifices she must
make: always attend to the needs of her children, put her husband's happiness
ahead of hers, never speak up or complain. In one particularly chilling scene,
Sigfrid drunkenly beats her until one of her eyes swells shut, and she goes to
her father for help, only to be told, coldly and firmly, that it is her
obligation to stay married to him until death do them part. Even when she
initially finds the camera, she only imagines selling it to Mr. Pedersen for
rent money. It's not until he explains how to use it and why she might enjoy it
that she considers it more than just a commodity. Her artistic awakening is
especially affecting. Here Truell's subtle and delicate direction conveys just
how simultaneously painful and exhilarating it is for Maria to realize that she
has some worth completely independent of her family. It's in these scenes that
Everlasting Moments finds its heart.

It's in the character of Sigfrid that the film falters. It makes sense that
the film takes the time to paint a portrait of him as more than just a drunken
lout; he's also a hard worker, he's good with horses, and he supports his
friends. This is an interesting idea, but the film goes way too far with it. For
too many scenes, we're completely left out of Maria's perspective and focused
exclusively on Sigfrid's. There's a scene where Sigfrid cheats on Maria with a
barmaid that goes on some beats longer than necessary. There's a scene where
World War I breaks out and Sigfrid is drafted that just seems like unnecessary
padding, especially since we really don't need to see him eating and joking with
his fellow soldiers. There's a subplot with a friend of Sigfrid's whose life
spirals downward into tragedy that's affecting but ultimately irrelevant. These
scenes are all well-performed and directed, but they completely miss the point
of the film. They have nothing to do with Maria's artistic and personal
awakening and are so elaborately developed that they wind up shortchanging
Maria's infinitely more interesting story.

This shortchanging is the film's major flaw. There are far too many scenes
in which Maria's evolution seems rushed or tossed off. There's one lovely scene
in which one of her neighbors, whose daughter has Down's syndrome, laments that
she can't imagine a future for her daughter. Maria considers this, and then
gently asks if she can take the girl's picture. It highlights just how
significant Maria's gift is: not only does it make her feel better about
herself, but by using it, she can make others feel better about themselves as
well. This is the sort of scene we should be seeing more of, but not only do we
not get enough of these, we don't even get to see the payoff to this one by
actually getting to see the picture Maria took. Why not show us more of Maria
photographing, developing, and discovering herself, rather than waste time on
unnecessary scenes like Maja's first kiss? If Troell lacks confidence that the
story he chose to tell is dense enough to carry a feature film, then why did he
choose to tell it?

For this DVD, Criterion has put together a decent package. The anamorphic
1.85:1 transfer is good. The film looks grainy and destaurated, perhaps due to
budgetary reasons or an artistic choice by Troell. In either case, though, the
transfer captures the film accurately. The 5.1 surround mix is also pretty good,
although he surrounds aren't used that much. The selection of extras is OK. In
addition to the film's trailer (2:08), there are several featurettes.
"Troell Behind the Camera" (28:06) delves into the production of the
film with interviews with Troell, his wife (a distant relative of the real Maria
Larsson) and various cast and crew members. "The True Story of Maria
Larsson" (9:17) shows real photos taken by Larsson accompanied by insights
into her life. "Troell's Magic Mirror" (60:46) examines Troell's life
and career. Criterion, however, deserves to be docked considerably for also
including a booklet with an essay by, of all people, contrarian blowhard Armond
White. Seriously? What, was Harry Knowles unavailable? For all that Criterion
brags incessantly about its quality control, this essay is so typically
insufferable that it will make you not want to see the movie at all.
C'mon, Criterion, you should know better than to stoop to such cheap
tactics.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Where the film does an especially great job is in the relationship between
Maria and Mr. Pedersen. This is not a bodice-ripping movie, so you shouldn't
expect any major fireworks. That wouldn't be appropriate for either the
characters or time period, and the nature of their relationship is far more
subtle and profound than that. It's the way that both the actors and script
portray the quiet but unmistakable pleasure that Mr. Pedersen takes in finding
someone who appreciates visual beauty as much as he does, and the equally quiet
but unmistakable pleasure that Maria takes in having someone she admires take
her under his wing. This story may be too bittersweet for some viewers but the
depiction of how this relationship begins and progresses rings true, both in the
dialogue and characterization. If the film had focused more on this aspect as
well as Maria's creative development, it would have been more consistent.

Closing Statement

There is a lot to admire in Everlasting Moments, and the film is at
least worth seeing, especially for anyone who has ever nurtured dreams of
emotional and creative fulfillment. It's just too bad that Troell doesn't focus
as much on his central story and instead wastes too much time on tangents that
are ultimately unsatisfying. You'll savor its best moments, and lament how it
could have been much better.

The Verdict

Guilty of not telling the story it set out to do.

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